The subject invention is directed toward the art of cup dispensers and, more particularly, to a diaphragm type cup dispenser assembly and an improved diaphragm therefor which is capable of handling an extremely large range of cup sizes.
Cup dispensers of the type under consideration are commonly used in the fast food industry to maintain a supply of cups adjacent the beverage dispensing equipment for use as required. The dispensers typically comprise a storage tube or cylinder which holds a telescopically interfitted stack of cups. Across the lower end of the tube, there is a resilient diaphragm having a central opening through which the bottom portion of the lowermost cup in the stack extends. The diaphragm resiliently grips and holds the lowermost cup and thereby supports it and the telescopically interfitted stack thereabove. As the lowermost cup is pulled through the diaphragm opening, the diaphragm grips the next superjacent cup in the stack to hold it and the stack as the lowermost cup is removed.
As can be appreciated, the resiliency of the diaphragm and the diameter of the central opening generally act as the limiting factors with respect to the range of cup diameters that can be handled by any single diaphragm. Typically, a large number of different diaphragms must generally be provided in order to properly hold the usual range of cup sizes. Similarly, different diaphragms must be used for fragile cups or ice cream cones. Alternative designs using mechanical spring fingers and the like have been proposed. These have also been limited in the range of sizes they can handle.